Pet food scare - When will it stop?

Everyday I receive around 50 news alerts about the
massive pet food recall in my email box. Most of them are the same though, but
it is obvious that this subject is currently the hottest item in the North
American online commodities. Although it is getting more complex each day, the
details are starting to come to the surface.

Everyday I receive around 50 news alerts about the massive pet food recall in my email box. Most of them are the same though, but it is obvious that this subject is currently the hottest item in the North American online commodities. Although it is getting more complex each day, the details are starting to come to the surface.

The whole pet food scare doesn't include only pets anymore, it has spread to pigs and poultry and who knows what more! And when will it stop?

China: the source of the contaminationI try to browse through all the pet food news items, but I must say it is hard to keep up. As more brands are being recalled and more contaminated ingredients are found also more questions rise. When US officials visited the source of the contamination –China- it was concluded that the use of melamine in raw materials (intended for animal feed and pet food) was normal. How can the use of a toxic ingredient for live animals be normal? I would like to know if these ingredients are tested or certified and if so, who checks it. Obviously, there is a huge gap in the chain here.

Recalled petfood sold as livestock feedBut what hits me most is that after all the panic, pet food companies did not destroy the pet food. No, that would be a waste! They sold it to companies that make pig and poultry feed . Is it just me that is missing an important part here?

The conclusion is that the toxic melamine entered the human food chain not by accident, but deliberately. Dogs and cats die from eating the product, but apparently it is ok to give it to livestock and humans.

The recalled products have been used in pig and poultry feed because officials did not see any risks in mixing the pet food in animal feed. For me, this is a bit strange.

Contamined feed enters human food chainThe huge panic still fresh in my memory, I now realise that US health officials do not mind that the contaminated feed enters the human food chain. They say the health risks are minimal , but how do they know and where is the real data backing up this statement? In all the news items that I see, I miss the part when they talk about how the toxic compound behaves in the animal's body. Does it deposit in meat and eggs and what is the real risk of eating these animals?

I must confess, I am starting to worry about my own cats as well. Although I buy food for my pets in Dutch stores, I know that anything can happen, especially because ingredients for feed and food are shipped around the world. Maybe I have to start delving into culinary pet recipes , to make at home before the same happens in Europe.

Leopold Hooghe

See my earlier comment.For info, you can reach me at leopold.hooghe@skynet.be

riaz

10 May 2007 15:25

i am a student of M.sc animal nutrition at depp of animal nutrition NWFP Agricultural university peshawar pakistan and i want your help for my research. email me at riazaup @gmail.com. plz .

Jo Gunter

11 May 2007 20:54

I read the article about chickens being fed food that included melamine-contaminated pet food, but no where does it say that the contaminated food came from Natural Balance. Nor have I heard the FDA announce this. Where did you get this info?

Larry Whetstone

15 May 2007 18:07

Apparently the USDA placed a rule in effect , sometime prior to this issue , banning the use of any pet food ingredient if the product was sourced from a plant that was not GMP Certified . The product I was offering was politely refused by a major pet food manufacturer with an invitation to present the ingredient after the Chinese processing plant held the GMP Certification required for USA sales. From what I can gather after considerable investigation , there are few , GMP Certified food ingredient manufacturing , export licenced plants registered in China . I question the motivation of the US processors of the tainted feeds or pet foods who used the uncertified ingredient in their US or Canadian plants , even though the recent US ruling was in place.

tgtg

21 May 2007 16:29

Hopefully, other pet food makers will follow the decision of Menu Foods and also switch over to domestic ingredients if they want to survive this catastrophe. The makers who continue using imported ingredients in their products, clearly knowing the liability in doing so, could eventually be driven out of business. Not only will they have zero defense in the courts when the next round of pet deaths occur from imports (regardless of how much testing of their imported products they do), but they will find it impossible to compete successfully against the companies that are now rapidly switching over to the domestic-only food ingredients. Like the majority of pet owners in this world, I will gladly pay a premium price for pet food with "No Imported Ingredients" or "U.S. Domestic Only Ingredients" on the label in view of the recent pet poisonings. The old adage, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind. And, I'm sure the retail distributors who were impacted will be of like mind, especially after they're pulled into court a few more times.